what temperature

"Me" skrev i melding news: snipped-for-privacy@nnrp-t71-02.news.uk.clara.net...

It does really matter, yes. Top Bourgogne should not be chilled to death -

I agree it should not be chilled to death - 12C should be fine

MAUOMBO

P.S. just realised that I didnt actually say why it shouldnt be too cold...

if it is too cold, one cant taste all the flavours - same goes for a lot of foods eg cheese. Many people eat cheese from the fridge and if you do then you miss half the flavour!

I agree although I must warn for drinking the wine too warm. Aroma's tend to get overwhelming and sharp and the taste might get to "alcoholic". I'd serve this wine at 14 degrees celcius. Or decant it a lower temperature and let it heat up a little.

Bas

I think it is an obvious point that is often ignored - if you serve a chilled wine, it is going to warm up before it is drunk. Even with insulated bottles holders, the wine will warm in the glass - and guests that want warmer wine can accelerate this process by holding the glass. For this reason I would always want to err on the cooler-side with wines that need chilling.

Thanks for all the replies

In message , Steve Slatcher writes

In a restaurant in La Rioja where I dined last weekend the dining room seemed very cold, and the bottle of red wine we ordered was practically chilled, even though the suggested serving temperature on the label was

I've been served slightly chilled red wine before in Mallorca, where the bottles develop a film of condensation as they arrive at the table, but in high summer it warms quite quickly once it's in the glass.

However, in the restaurant in Ezcaray, there was no such chance. The dining room warmed slightly as more diners arrived, but still couldn't have been more than 11-12C, and I and my companions had to try and warm the wine glasses in our hands - which worked to some extent and helped develop the flavours.

Is serving red wine chilled common practice in Spain, and is it for a reason or do they just store all the wine together to save on space?

I think I'd take that as a sound starting point. OK, at great expense and personal sacrifice I have just conducted a controlled experiment on this subject. Some time ago I received one of those "What do we buy this wine-obsessed nutter?" presents, viz. a temperature indicator that wraps around the bottle. First off tonight was a Rosemount Mudgee "Hill of Gold" Chardonnay, chilled to 8c. Just about right for an old-style oak and caramel Aussie, probably warmed to 10 to 12c by the time you get to drink it. Next came a Nobillo SB at 6c, and again I thought this was about right - IMO NZ Sauvignon needs to be more or less just out of the refrigerator to fully appreciate that cut glass, grass and asparagus. So I guess that puts me at the lower end of the preferred temperature spectrum, but I really do not enjoy warm whites. Incidentally, given that refrigeration has only been around for about 100 years, and our good friend the fermented grape is so much older, where and when did the habit of chilling white wine develop?

Ian

"Ian Hayward" skrev i melding news:IFvnc.104$D%1.71@newsfe1-win...

In Europe where natural cellars could hold down to 40-45 degrees.. Otherwise, you are probably correct in that most people did not drink very chilled wine. The established range today is 40-50F (5-10F) for most plonk,